kings and queens
by jaime-lannisters
Summary: They were just a ragtag team of reckless teenagers with something to prove, and someone told them they could change the world. / Marlene McKinnon is not afraid to die.— order of the phoenix, muggle!au.


**written for**: quidditch league fanfiction competition round 6 — au [muggle] / appleby arrows — chaser three.

**thanks**: my entire team, they're so amazing and understanding, esp. bria (gote) who was messaging me throughout and being an angel.

**warnings/notes**: muggle!au, swearing (literally every marlene fic i write), themes of death. also, i don't know what's up with the word count, but it's really off.

**disclaimer**: disclaimed.

* * *

They're seventeen and they think they'll live forever.

x

In hindsight, Marlene should have known something was up the second Sirius started hanging out with Old Man Longbeard of his own volition.

'Course, she knows him as Dumbledore now but back then he was Old Man Longbeard to her. To all of them. They were just teenagers on a perpetual search for an adrenaline kick and she knows that she never thought it'd lead to here and now, where she's holding a gun and it's pointed at a trembling man.

And now is no time to be distracted, but there is a certain element of the ridiculous in this situation, and if there's one thing that human nature is famous for, it's trying to find an explanation for events that should really just be left alone.

She's looking down the barrel of her gun but she's not seeing where it ends, here and now; she's back at the start.

x

**i. the life.**

She's in detention when it begins.

Marlene's sitting there, leaning back in her chair with her legs propped up on the desk. There's a scowl on her face directed at Sirius, who isn't smirking like he usually would in the situation. In fact, he looks remotely distressed, eyes constantly flicking up to the clock on the wall. It says 4:07 pm, same as the last three times he checked. She rolls her eyes at him, but says nothing.

She doesn't need to. "The clock's not gonna speed up just by wishing, kid," says a smooth, warm voice and Marlene jerks her head to the right to find the source of the noise. A boy sits there; one might say that he's seated like Marlene, but Marlene's stillness is the unbridled energy of a bird poised before flight, and her seat isn't tipped back for the comfort, but for the rush that comes when hanging in the balance, the danger of falling. This boy lounges like he has all the cards in his hand and all the time in the world. He's taller than her, she judges, but a little shorter than Sirius, and his messy brown hair is streaked with a bright pink that would make even Dorcas jealous.

Sirius simply appears more agitated. "Fine. I'll bite," Marlene says with a sigh. "Why is the time making you want to cry?"

Sirius immediately growls at her. "I do _not_ cry," he says adamantly, before blinking. "I have somewhere to be," he continues slowly, looking more frustrated than panicked now.

Marlene raises an eyebrow. She's long since realised why Sirius always seems to be looking for trouble; if he's in detention, he's not at home, and it saddens her how much he relies on that small mercy. It's strange for him to want to be somewhere else so desperately; she hadn't been aware he had anywhere else to _go_. He's always welcome at James', of course, and Marlene's quite fond of the afternoons when Sirius walks her home after whatever detention he's earned her, and stays over for a few hours for dinner, but he's Sirius Black and as much as he hates his family, he's as Black as the rest of them and he has his pride.

"Which is?" she presses, raising an eyebrow at Sirius.

He sighs. "I have an appointment with Old Man Longbeard," he mumbles.

The other boy, who Marlene now knows as Benjy Fenwick, and is a boy who likes dogs and cars and grass beneath his feet, gives a low whistle. "Well, then," he says, "I guess we better get you out of here."

x

That's how they start, Marlene remembers. They were just a ragtag team of reckless teenagers with something to prove, and someone told them they could change the world.

They hasn't realised, back then, the power they had. It was both infinite and infinitesimal, but more than anything, it was theirs. They were a group of rebellious teens and disaffected youth and somehow, they started a revolution.

x

Dorcas Meadowes is 5'7" of fair skin, long legs and continuously dyed hair. Today it's blue, a bright, obtrusive blue to match her take-no-prisoners personality.

"Wotcher, Marls," she says, flopping onto the grass beside Marlene, a spray-paint can hitting the ground beside her.

Marlene grins at her, before taking another drag of her cigarette. "Hey there, delinquent," she greets amicably. "Who's the lucky host of the Charming Vandals tonight?"

The Charming Vandals, as Dorcas' gang was known as on the streets back then, was a group of five; Dorcas, and her refusal to accept her life as it was; Mundungus Fletcher, a kleptomaniac with fingers as sticky as the paint in his can; Benjy, with his pink hair and the belief that nothing was ever _really_ locked, simply waiting to be opened; sweet little Mary Mac, whose angelic face and blonde locks had gotten the group out of a jam or two; and Emmeline Vance, a girl who planned to scream all she could before her imminent death stopped her.

Dorcas grins back. "Headmaster Nixon," she replies smugly as Marlene's eyes widen. "Sirius came to help us; it was his idea, actually."

Marlene tilts her head thoughtfully. "Then it's probably something to do with Longbeard," she thinks aloud.

Dorcas nods. "Reckon we should check out that scene? Remy, Pete and Jamie want to."

Marlene glances to the side. She can't help but think that surprising Sirius by showing up to his first real secret of his own would be a bad idea and make them bad friends, but she's curious and kind of worried about him, so she nods anyway.

x

"You want to burn down a house?" she blurts out and suddenly she's stepping out of the shadows and Sirius and Old Man Longbeard are looking up in a startled surprise that's slowly shifting towards anger.

"Marlene, are you seriously fucking_ spying_ on me right now?" Sirius demands, jaw clenched, and she's actually a bit terrified that she's fucked up their friendship forever but she's Marlene McKinnon, queen of their wolf pack, and she does not back down.

With a resolute expression, she gives him a 100% glare. "Are you seriously fucking going to commit _arson_?" she throws right back at him, noting the twitch in his jaw and the hesitation in his eyes and she suddenly knows what to do. "I'd help, you know. If you wanted and it didn't hurt anyone," she says and she's not a delinquent, just a bit rebellious, but this is Sirius Black and she knows that if he asked her to run into a burning building, she'd shoot him a smirk and ask whether she should run on her hands or feet. She could have a future in anything, but she lives for adrenaline and her friends.

Sirius glances at Old Man Longbeard, who inclines his head slowly. Sirius turns back to Marlene. "We want to burn down the House of Lords," he clarifies and Marlene's tingling because _that's fucking treason_ and there's something about the pure danger in that fact that gives her a buzz.

So she nods, saying, "we're going to need James' help," which the boy in question takes as a cue to fall out of the shadows, dragging Remus, Peter and Dorcas alongside him.

"Well, sir, I reckon you've got yourself some rebels here," James says to Old Man Longbeard by way of greeting.

The old man shakes his head, blue eyes twinkling. "Not rebels," he says. "_Revolutionaries_."

x

They burn down the House of Lords — safely, thank you very much, seeing as they know some of the Lords and they're actually quite nice. They're burning down a symbol of oppressive hierarchy, not the people inside of it.

Everything has a symbol, Dumbledore — as Old Man Longbeard says to call him — explains. The oppressive rule of their current government has powerful symbols, in the eyes of the people; powerful, but tending to be made of material rather than flesh, which is good for the revolutionaries, because that's easier to justify destroying.

All of the Charming Vandals are part of their ragtag team now, and they take to spray-painting a phoenix wherever they go. It catches on, and soon it is sprayed by any of them who can. It is a sigil, a reminder that change is around the corner.

The people notice, and they talk. Children excitedly seek the phoenixes out, adults frown in concern and teenagers discuss the coming revolution in hushed voices. Nobody's sure how it'll happen, but they can feel the change in the air.

x

The Parliament issues a broadcast, declaring the 'Order of the Phoenix' to be treasonous rebels and that anyone found aiding them in their terrorist actions would be arrested.

"Well," Marlene says, after they see the broadcast.

"Mmhmm," James agrees.

"Kinda like the name, though," Sirius says, turning to Dumbledore to quirk an eyebrow.

They call themselves the Order of the Phoenix after that — and it's a fucking ponce name, but Marlene's here for the kicks, not to approve their name, and anyway, it sticks it to the government that they were the ones who named the group and gave them recognition — and they are glorious in their power.

x

Soon enough, the Parliament issues another statement, this one saying that "any measures to bring in the terrorist group, the Order of the Phoenix, will be accepted".

"What does that mean?" Mary asks Remus, but it's Mundungus who answers.

"It means that they're allowed to shoot us," he says softly.

It's a sobering thought, but not enough to stop them.

"Well, then," Dumbledore says. "Guess we'd better get you some things to shoot them with first."

x

Stealing guns from the military is the most dangerous plan yet, but running away from the wire fence gives Marlene such a buzz—

_FLASH_.

—and she's about to stumble because _that goddamn fucking light_ blinded her momentarily but it's okay because Sirius grabs her by the arm and keeps her steady.

Well, it's okay until the broadcast that night.

"The three key ringleaders of the terrorist organisation 'Order of the Phoenix' were photographed tonight as they raided a military base," and suddenly there's a picture of her on the screen, between pictures of Sirius and James.

She chokes on her dumpling. James spits his coke into Lily's face — and Marlene only just managed to convince her to come so _real fucking smooth, football star _— and Sirius turns ashen.

_Fuck_.

x

They sift through the raid's loot, and Marlene's horrified when Sirius arms himself.

He doesn't look like a revolutionary, he looks like a boy with a gun.

They're all impossibly young and what the fuck were they _thinking_, taking on the government, because they're not going to survive this.

Emmeline materialises beside Marlene. "He looks so young," she says to Marlene, before placing her hand on the blonde's arm. "You all do."

Marlene glances up at her. "So do you," she insists.

Emmeline smiles, but shakes her head. "I'm like an old woman in a young body, Marls. I've had five years since I was diagnosed to accept I'm going to die. This isn't a sacrifice for me," she explains, waving her hand around to indicate the headquarters, the last few months. "I'm going to die anyway, so dying with my friends, for something worthy, with the adrenaline pumping through me and making me feel almost alive—that's such a gift. But it's also selfish, because you guys deserve to live. So why are you all still here?"

Marlene doesn't think she has an answer to that, but her lips move of their own accord. "Because somebody's got to be. We're young, and when else are we ever going to believe in something this much?"

x

**ii. the burning.**

It will start today, and they are marching with the people of London, in a parade commemorating the day the Parliament took power. Sirius looks as disgusted by the prospect as Marlene feels, but they march anyway.

The streets will be red tonight, but whether with blood or the colour of revolution, nobody is sure.

x

Gunshots are firing and the boys are building a barricade and Mary and Lily and Emmeline are helping the children and women to safety. Anyone is welcome to join them, and to seek refuge behind their barricade, but they try return as many to their homes as possible, because there is a safety in the government not knowing you exist.

x

Night falls and the city is burning. The soldiers of the Parliament are setting fires around the barricade and there are screams everywhere.

Remus runs around with a damp cloth and antiseptic and Peter and Lily try to evacuate as many people as possible before their houses catch on fire but Marlene isn't doing anything and the screams are stabbing into her, one by one, so she swears under her breath and runs into the nearest burning building.

"Marlene, get the fuck out of there!" Sirius shouts at her and she'd respond but she can't because then she'll breathe in the smoke and this is a really shitty idea but she can't listen to any more screams of the slowly dying, and anyway, she's a Phoenix, and the fire is her life force.

She finally finds a locked bedroom and, with her fingers crossed, pulls a pin out of her hair and jams it into the lock the way Benjy taught her back on that first day in detention. The door opens.

There's two frightened boys huddled on the ground, but the screaming's still coming and then she realises that they're staring at a cot in fear and the cot is on fire and there's a little girl inside and _oh fuck oh fuck_.

She grabs the girl, resisting the urge to scream in pain as the flames lick at her skin, and she beckons to the boys to follow her. They start running down the stairs, but then a flame runs up the rail and one of the boys tumbles down and she's so sure he's going to die—

and then Sirius catches him, and grabs his brother, and runs out the door, followed by Marlene and the girl.

Lily, Remus and Mary grab the children off of them as soon as they emerge and Sirius turns around to give Marlene the scariest look she's ever seen on his face. "What the fuck were you thinking, McKinnon? You could have fucking died!"

"They were in pain," she interrupts, half-yelling. "They were screaming and shouting and I couldn't listen anymore and I'm going to die anyway so_ why not_ for the people we've pledged to save—"

Suddenly, his hands are in her hair and he's pulling her closer and his lips are on hers and they're chapped and raw and taste like embers but it's the best thing she's ever felt, better than any adrenaline kick, and she realises how much harder it's going to be for her to die now, now that she's felt this.

"Package deal, McKinnon," he says softly, his forehead against hers. And she knows in that second that if he had to choose between saving her and the revolution, he'd choose her, and she vows to never put him in that position.

x

She's looking down the barrel of her gun and she's looking at a trembling man.

In him, she sees every mistake she's ever made, every memory she savours, every feeling she's ever felt and every person she's ever met and she realises that this is what she comes down to, that this is the summation of her existence.

x

Regulus Black trembles before her, and she sighs, and lowers her gun. "Go," she commands. "Get out. You don't need to be here." _Sirius doesn't need to watch you die._

Regulus looks at her, measuring her up, and he nods. "Will you keep him safe?" he asks.

She nods. "Until the very end."

x

Bellatrix Lestrange holds a gun to her head, but Marlene's pointing a gun at Highest Lord Riddle and she's not afraid of dying.

She'd rather die than lower her gun and allow Riddle to squeeze the trigger on the gun he has pointed at Sirius.

Sirius is still, icy calm as he stares down Riddle. James is about a metre away, helplessly watching the exchange unfold.

Marlene knows that if she doesn't act, Sirius will do something stupid to save her life, probably dying and throwing away his revolution in the process and that isn't acceptable.

"James!" she calls out. Everyone's watching her, but she focuses on James. "No matter what, we'll always have this summer. They can't take it away from us. No matter what. This summer is ours; the summer we stood up and they took notice and we were glorious," and everyone's rapt, and she's speaking to them all, ignoring the gun to her head. "This is our summer, the summer of 1977 and we were all here and that's something nobody can _ever_ take away." Her eyes are burning with ferocity, and she demands, "promise me you'll remember the things that matter."

His eyes widen but he nods.

She looks Sirius in the eye, and says, "package deal, Black." Then she takes a deep breath and pulls the trigger of her gun.

x

**iii. the rebirth.**

James thinks that in the end, Marlene understood the Phoenix better than the rest of them.

At the burial, James stands. "Phoenixes," he says, "are birds of cycle. They live, they burn, they are reborn. Marls was the fire we needed to have the ashes to be reborn from."

He glances down at the body next to hers on the dais, and swallows hard. "Sirius was our revolution. He was the life, she was the fire and because of them, we get to rise from the ashes. God bless the phoenixes."

He still remembers that night. Marlene ending the revolution in a single stroke by shooting Riddle, and the shriek that followed, courtesy of Bellatrix, who then proceeded to shoot twice; Marlene, once, through the heart and Sirius, matching Marlene's when he ran to her side.

The regime fell overnight, and the Order have worked every day since to try piece together a new world from the ashes of the old.

He remembers the important things, the ones Marlene told him to remember. In the years to come, an old man in a Republic still coming to its feet, he remembers the blue of Dorcas' hair and the twinkle of Peter's eyes. He thinks of Lily running around the barricade, dragging people to safety, and Remus' glasses and antiseptic cloth. He sees Benjy in his mind's eye, telling him that nothing is ever really locked, and Emmeline smiling softly at her boyfriend Caradoc. He hears Mary's laugh, and he thinks of how Mundungus secretly liked stealing poetry books best. He thinks of Sirius, his brother in another skin, and the way he believed and he fought against everything he'd been raised to believe, and the way he looked at Marlene when he thought no-one was looking. He thinks of Marlene, the bravest girl he ever knew, and the way she spoke to everyone on that last day, and the way she spoke to everyone every day before that, with no fear and laughter in her voice. He thinks of dancing in the park, drinking and laughing by the lake, of stupid mistakes and fires they set.

He thinks of the summer of 1977, and how he's the only one left, but how nobody can ever take that summer away from them.

* * *

**a note from the author** — please review, it would be quite appreciated, and please do not favourite without reviewing, thank you. :)


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